


An Actual Good Ending

by platonicharmonics



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Fix-It, Gen, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-24 09:39:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4914547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/platonicharmonics/pseuds/platonicharmonics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Best Ending - 8/8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I'm sick and tired of mentally-ill characters getting screwed over in every form of media, and "You can save all 8 characters" my ass.
> 
> Therefore, I re-wrote the ending in a way I hoped wouldn't be too far-fetched from being in the actual game. Obviously, things are stylized because it's written out instead of acted.
> 
> I haven't been diagnosed with anything to make me neurodivergent, and WebMD and two other mental health journals didn't go into specifics. I tried to write Josh as respectfully as I could while also doing "Monkey see, monkey do" from the game. I am still ignorant, however, and if something is wrong or this whole things is - just call me out and I'll change it ASAP, or even take this down. I wrote this to help, not hurt.

**Previously on Until Dawn**

“ _I really don't wanna go in there.”_

_Mike sighed. “There's no other way through.”_

_Sam grimaced at the freezing pool, then crouched to drop in-_

_A monstrous, pale-white Wendigo exploded out of the water, screaming and snatching at them. Mike and Sam scrambled backwards, slashed across their cheeks, screaming just as loud – Sam threw her flashlight to crack off the Wendigo's face, making it miss Mike when it lunged to bite. With one last pained glance towards the other side of the room and the thought of Josh, they turned and sprinted back the way they came; the Wendigo gave chase, lunging after them wall-to-wall like a jumping spider._

* * *

JOSH  
MINES  
5:42

The hellish, frost-bitten face pushing through the wall of flesh and gore with its milky eyes and bloody fangs was too – was too – it was too much, it was- it was the thing that took him from the shed. He was so fucking scared as it dragged him through the snow, shrieking and chirping, that he screamed himself into blacking out. It was the thing. It was the thing, and it was coming for him, his punishment, his reaper for being a failure.

He screamed and screamed and staggered backwards, babbling panicked tangents of ' _No_ 's and ' _Not again_ 's and ' _Please_.' The face began falling out of the wall to follow the pig, so he fell-

Something sliced open the meat of his arm.

The pain was sharp and immediate and _real._ Everything in his vision dimmed and blackened, the squelches and screams snapping into a buzzing in his head and a ringing in his ears. He gulped down hyperventilated breaths and grabbed the wound. He finally managed to look at it.

A cut in his bicep, thin, but deep. Blood oozed from pale flesh. He glanced around and saw a rusty nail sticking out of a support beam, dripping scarlet. He struggled to breath, fighting for air. He squeezed his bicep and the pain flared. The room came back into focus, the actual room, the real room.

Gore and flesh were back to being slimy wet stone. Severed heads were back to being rotting piles of wood. He could barely see anything, the cave was so dark. He was scared. He was so fucking scared.

He gulped, then staggered over to the wall. Shakily, he followed its perimeter around, and around some more, and around, until he stumbled into a narrow passageway that lead to – lead further into the mines, there was wood and support beams and- and hooks...

There was a small red puddle. He slowly looked up and saw a headless body hanging from a hook. Not his sisters, but a stranger, but a human being, which meant it was _real_ , and-

“ _No_ ,” he moaned. “Oh, no. No, no, no.”

He never saw a real dead body before. Dead pigs. Dummies. Not real. Not people.

_Look at us, Josh._

“No,” he growled, and pushed himself forward.

_LOOK AT US, JOSH._

Josh squeezed his wounded bicep, making the white hot flash of pain stab through him again. His ears rang. He was standing at the edge of an underground pool, sprawling across the mine chamber. A water-wheel stood off to the side. He sniffled, then swallowed. There was a light on the other side. A modern light. A flashlight.

Josh hesitated for a long moment, then dropped down into the pool with a curse. The freezing water soaked through his overalls, his jeans, his socks and shoes, his shirts, chilling his skin and setting his nerves on fire before they burned out into numbness. The ringing in his ears faded, and, slowly, he began slogging through the mess.

There was an outcrop by the water-mill, so he clambered up onto it, hoping there was something convenient he could use, like a get-out-of-Hell-free card.

Dripping wet and shivering, he came across a musty brown journal. He knelt down, scooped it up, and shakily opened it.

_Day 1: My little sister is dead. The fall killed her... I watched the color drain from her face. My leg is broken. I'm all alone, stuck here with Beth's body. Someone will come soon._

His blood ran cold.

_Day 5: I've **never** been so **HUNGRY**. It feels like my stomach is twisting around inside. I took Beth's sweater. Much warmer now. She's still looking out for me._

_Day 30: I'm sorry Beth. I have no choice. I'm **DYING**. It's the only way I can survive any more. If anyone finds this I'm **SORRY**. I **had to**. I had **no choice**. Forgive me Beth. I'm sorry._

“Hannah...?! Hann- _Beth_ , no, no, _nooo_...” He fervently shook his head, as if that could get Hannah to stop. A sob escaped his throat as he turned the page.

_Day 33: My hands feel unclean My **nails** fell out **PUSHED OUT** I am aching but no more COLD **NO PAIN** I am getting **stronger**!!_

Hyperventilating again, he turned to the last page.

H͔̦̱̺̦͖̤ͧ̂̅̑̕U̼͊́N̘̟̝̰̹G̪͔̳̮̀͛E̼͐̓̋̂̕R̳̼̹̞͓̥͓͊ͦ̔̇ ͓͔̺̻͕͖̩ͨ  
̛͓̺̪̖ͅH̳̿͐̆̌́U̸̟͇ͦͨ͂͋̅Ṇ̰̭͍̀ͦ̒̑G̮̦̙͓̹̦̳̾̀͑͆͋E̴͖͔̹̗̍̋Ȓ̖͒͊ͩ̾͘ ̰̱͚͙̔̀  
̴̠̰̼ͧͩ̉ͧ̊̉̚H͕U̥͆N̘̦̤͓̣̠̞ͩ̏ͤ͑̇ͩG͇͙̰̥͚̣ͥ͗̑̅ͬ̈̑͝E͙͍̫͋̋̃R̻̺̠ͩ͋ͭ͆̆̌̊ͅ

He threw the diary away as if it were burning with a soft scream. He was choking. His emotions mashed and coiled together, climbing up into his throat and coursing through his limbs, every nerve set on fire. He flapped his hands, trying to channel some of it, trying not to drown.

When the surge of emotion finally passed, he felt drained, carved out. Silently, he wept. His body felt heavy and numb, so, with nowhere to go but onwards, he turned around and stumbled back to the water, tears steaming down his cheeks.

Dropping back down into the pool wasn't nearly as bad as the first time. He was so cold – so cold that he was convinced that he'd never warm back up, not in a million years, not if he was wrapped in a thousand blankets, not if he set himself on fire.

He made it to the far ledge, where the flashlight was. He clambered up onto the rocky outcrop, shivering slightly. He looked at the light by his feet, then knelt down. He picked it up and inspected it; the bulb still worked, but the lens was broken. He squinted at it. He knew this flashlight because he owned it. Which meant- which meant his friends must have-

They came for him! But what happened to them?

He continued on around the bend, walking towards a shallow ditch. He stopped when he saw bones. Human bones.

Warily, he stooped down beside the grave and stared at it. How old was it? The bones were still white. Something long and dull caught his eye, so he picked it up and inspected it. _Beth W._

He screamed and crawled backwards, dropping Beth's watch, crying anew. He managed to scramble to his feet, and looked up-

-directly into a pale, monstrous face.

“ _SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-_ ”

The monster seized him by the torso and hoisted him up into the air, sharp claws cutting through all of his layers to prick into his flesh. The thing's eyes were milky white and foamed over; its skin was corpse-gray and pulled tight across its colossal skeleton; the thing must have stood eight feet tall at least, with horrifically long arms like spider-legs; and worst of all was its mouth, widened as if it had been slit, and full entirely of rotting, blood-stained fangs.

His eyes rapidly skittered all across the thing and then snagged on a butterfly tattoo on its right shoulder.

“Hannah?!” he screamed. “ _Hannah!_ ”

Her face – her eyelids, lips, and most of her nose had frozen or rotted off. His sister. His baby sister.

Hannah's eyes widened and her muscles contorted around her mouth, fully displaying her fangs. She hissed, then walked forward into the pool, dragging him behind her. Josh scratched at the skin of her wrist, hard as stone and cold as ice, shrieking, “ _No, no, no, no!_ ”

Hannah dunked him beneath the surface and thrashed him around, then pulled his head above the water. She was still walking. Josh coughed and gagged and gasped for air, then started screaming. Hannah submerged him under water again.

The next thing he knew, he was back in the room with the dead body. Hannah deposited him roughly onto the ground, then crawled over to something. Josh scrambled backwards until he was pressed against the rotting wood of the mine wall, chest heaving. Hannah turned and came back, holding something in her hand.

She pressed her face an inch away from his nose and let out a long breath, which reeked of rot and decay – Josh covered his mouth to gag. Then, she presented a human head to him.

The old man's face was entirely slack and his eyes were rolled back into his head. Real, real, real, it was _real_.

“ _No!_ ” he screamed through his hand. He fervently shook his head. Hannah hissed, then swiped his arm away from his mouth. When Josh still shook his head, she sank her fangs into the old man's cheek and pulled off a chunk of flesh, then offered the head once more.

Josh writhed and thrashed and scrambled to get away, shrieking, “ _Nonono no you can't make me stop it STOP IT-!_ ”

Hannah reared back and screeched, fangs bared. Her free hand wrapped around Josh's head and then smashed it against the man's skull. There was a soft _crack_ from his nose and Josh yelped, falling to the ground and clutching at his face, curling into the fetal position. Hannah dropped the head beside him, backed up, and let out a furious scream that made the air tremble. She leaped away to the far wall, leaped again, then crawled through a mine tunnel Josh hadn't noticed before, mostly because it was partially collapsed. Her eerie screeches followed behind her.

Josh peeked out through his fingers and saw the head staring at him. He cried out and crawled away across the dirt floor, only stopping once he was behind a beam. Only then did he realize that his nose was bleeding and that he wasn't shivering anymore, skin completely numb. He looked down at his overalls and saw ice crystals forming over his shoes, up his pant-legs and on his shirt.

Frantically, he pulled off his soaked clothing: shoes, socks, utility belt, overalls, shirts, until he was left only in his jeans and undershirt. He furiously rubbed at his arms, wrung his hands, and rubbed his feet until he could feel them again.

He heard crying somewhere. After a minute, he realized it was Beth. Hannah's voice wasn't anywhere, only the inhuman screech echoing through the tunnels.

“Beth...” he rasped. “I'm so s-sorry, Beth...”

The crying continued. He felt a cold hand rest on the nape of his neck; he shuddered and tried to shrug it off, but it wouldn't come off. He shook his head and rubbed hard at his eyes. When he pulled his hands away, he scanned the chamber more thoroughly.

A pair of super old cowboy boots were laying in the dirt beside a pile of rusted old metal. Josh crawled over on his hands and knees, grabbed them, then wrangled them onto his feet. He scanned the room again, shivering; the old man's body had a very big, very heavy, very warm-looking army coat.

The problem was, of course, that it was suspended on a hook twenty feet in the air.

Josh clambered to his feet and began wandering around, the cowboy boots making a comforting _ka-thud, ka-thud_ noise. The buzzing, ringing, and scratching in his head hadn't gone away. Pressure built behind his eyes; his brain felt like it was swollen and pressing up against his skull, splitting it in half. Did he have a fever? His skin only felt cold and clammy. His joints felt like rusted machinery, stiff and sore and not wanting to bend. He walked in a kind of limping, shuffling, staggered gate.

He managed to find an assortment of chains fastened around hooks set into the cave wall. He followed them up towards the ceiling, where they – melted and morphed into snakes. Josh blinked, hard, then clutched at his shoulder where his wound was. The white flash of pain made the snakes turn back into chains for a few seconds, long enough for him to track the one to the hook he needed.

He grabbed the chain and gave it a few tugs, but he was too weak. He wandered off again, furiously rubbing his arms or breathing into his cupped hands. Eventually he found an ancient pair of bolt cutters in a pile of junk. He carried the cutters back to the chain, slipped the chain between the jaws, steadied himself, then _squeezed_.

After a few grunts and wheezes of effort, there was a double _snap!_ – the chain and the bolt cutters broke in the same moment. The chain shot upwards, rattling loudly across the bar it was strung across as the body of the stranger plummeted to the ground, landing harshly with a dull _thud_.

Josh scrambled over to the body and tugged off the freaky – thing – was that a fucking _flamethrower?_ – before he wrestled the headless corpse out of the coat as quickly as possible.

“Sorry sorry sorry sorry...” he murmured, backing away. “Thank y-you, sorry....” He shrugged the coat on, and was immediately comforted. It was heavy. And _warm_. But more importantly, it was heavy, with thick padding and a large fur collar that he could use to ground himself. He pulled it tight around his throat and the cold hand on the nape of his neck finally went away. He looked at the discarded flamethrower. He considered taking it.

_I know my big brother would never hurt me! Isn't that right, Josh?_

Hannah's bright voice from when she was thirteen.

Never hurt me!  
     Never hurt me!  
          Never hurt me!

_Isn't that right, Josh? My big brother would never-_

Hannah's monstrous skull and milky eyes and rotting fangs appeared in front of his face.

**-hurt me.**

“ _Get away!_ ” Josh screamed, running towards the far wall. He stumbled and tripped, crawled for a stretch, then pulled himself up before pressing his back against the stone. “ _Stop! Please! Leave me alone!_ ”

Hannah was gone, but her voice remained, right beside his ear. _You did this to me, Josh. Why do you hate me, Josh? Why do you want to hurt me?_

Beth wasn't crying anymore. There was the sound of chewing.

Josh rapidly looked around. The mine tunnel that Hannah crawled through – the real Hannah – the real monster – was mostly blocked with rusty metal and large rubble, but he thought, _maybe_ , he could squeeze through without disturbing any of it.

Or he could just quickly scramble over it.

He chose the safe route. Carefully, he began weaving his way through the gaps in the debris. The loud, gnashing sound of chewing was right behind him. There were several times where he almost lost his balance, only to catch himself before he made the pile collapse on top of him. At the very end there was a tight, narrow wedge. Slowly, carefully, he slithered his way through it. A few pebbles trickled down from the top of the pile. He just needed to get his hips and his legs through. Carefully, he slid them out and around, then hurried to his feet again, dry-heaving. He blinked hard – the tunnel was pitch black – and shook his head.

He stood there, shivering for a moment, then warily lifted his hand to trail against the wall. He staggered forward.

–

MATT  
MINES  
6:14

“Hold up,” Matt whispered, helping Jess prop herself up against the mine wall. They heard heavy footsteps coming from the dark mine-tunnel they were just about to pass. Footsteps, and the faint sound of crying. Matt tried his best to hide the light of the lantern, but there was only so much he could do. Both of them went still.

The shadowy figure stopped before it turned the corner. It was _right fucking there_. Matt heard it suck in a ragged breath and frantically considered punching it, but waited too long.

“S-Stop it...”

“ _Josh?!_ ” Matt jumped around the corner and held up the lamp.

Josh looked like shit.

Matt's eyes immediately caught on the bloody gash on his forehead and the blood trail from his nose. Tears had left clean trails through the dirt and grime across his cheeks. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy. The only pieces left of his original clothes were his undershirt and jeans; he was wearing a scavenged fur-trim coat and boots that he definitely did not own.

Josh's eyes were wide as saucers. He breathed heavily through his mouth, then warily prompted, “M- Matt?”

“ _Oh my God._ ” Matt lurched forward and crushed him into a hug, beaming. Josh's body went rigid. “Dude, I thought you were _dead!_ ”

“D-D-Don't.”

Josh's voice sounded brittle and strained, so Matt immediately let go and backed off. “Oh shit, oh sorry, are you hur-”

Jessica's faint, hoarse voice chimed, “...Josh?”

Josh stumbled to the side to look behind Matt. Once he got a look at Jess in her bloody, ragged clothes, he shook his head slightly, then whispered, “Are you real?”

Jess struggled to nod, wincing in pain. Matt volunteered, “Jess fell down a mine shaft, but she's a trooper.”

Josh started crying again, smiling this time, and hurried towards her. “You're- _Jess_ , y-you're alive! I-I didn't kill you!” He reached out as if to touch her but stopped short, anxiously hovering instead. “You're _alive!_ ”

Jess squinted at him and furrowed her brows, then managed a half-smile and rasped, “Yeah...”

Holy crap. Did Josh know about the-? “Josh, dude, you gotta know- there's something down here with us. Something bad. It's the thing that hurt Jess.” The smile slid right off Josh's face. He ducked his head and hugged himself, shoulders shaking, muttering to himself in a strangled voice. “...Dude, what?”

“ _It's Hannah,_ ” Josh sobbed.

“What? Hannah? What about Hannah?!”

“ _It's her._ She- _Wendigo_ , t-the tribe here- she ate- Beth died and Hannah _ate her_ and she _hurt me_ and she- s-she- she turned into-” his words dissolved into weeping.

Matt felt bile rise in his throat. “M-Maybe you're wrong, man, you're a little shaken-”

Josh's warbly voice interrupted him. “I found her journal and she grabbed me and I saw her butterfly, her _butterfly_ on its _arm_ , and she t-tried to- she tried to- _Hannah_ , _Hannah_...”

Jess started crying, too. “Oh, God...” She looked at Matt. “He's... right... I saw... arm...”

Matt took a couple steps back and screwed his eyes shut, clutching at his head with his free hand. “Okay you know what? No. I can't- I can't- deal with this right now, and we're still in danger from that- thing, and I want us all to get out of here alive, so just. We'll deal with it later.” He opened his eyes again to see Jess, looking exhausted, nodding slowly; and Josh, looking out of it, shaking his head slightly. “Come on,” Matt murmured, in as gentle a tone as he could muster. He lifted the lantern again and started walking forward. “Come on, Jess, c'mon, Josh.”

Jess moved like every step was agony. She limped slowly and silently, eyes forward in a blank thousand-yard stare, wincing with every step. Occasionally, her winces came out in the form of a quiet, pained gasp or sob. She always clutched her hurt arm, head bent down, making her look even smaller than she already was. She looked like it was all she could possibly do to keep moving forward. Whenever they stopped, she stood like a wilting flower.

Josh, in contrast, walked like he was always one step away from losing his balance. He was constantly looking around – at the walls, at the ceiling, at the floor – with his mouth hanging open and a seemingly permanent look of muted horror on his face. His arms only stopped hugging his torso to frantically swat or brush off things that weren't there. He couldn't seem to stop shivering, and frequently his body would shudder or spasm or twitch. Whenever they stopped, he tried to rock himself back and forth, muttering words too quiet for anyone else to hear.

Matt noticed that they were further than ten feet away from him, so he slowed and waited for the two of them to catch up. Neither of them seemed particularly aware. Matt bit his lip and continued at a much slower pace, always making sure they were within the lamp-light beside him.

After another long stretch of tunnel, while walking around a corner, all three of them heard the inhuman screeching sounding like it was coming from only a few dozen feet behind. The three of them looked at each other – Matt lurched forward, panicking, Josh and Jess pressing themselves close to his side.

“Which way....?” he breathed.

There was a wooden alcove for tools or something to the side. Matt's brain was screaming _run!_ , but one look at Jess and Josh and the look on their faces – fear, despair, and a little defeat – had him ducking inside, gently pulling them with him. Josh's entire body was shaking like a leaf, but he had to stay _still_ , they had to-

Matt heard claws clack onto rock and without thinking pushed Josh up against the wall and puffed himself out. He felt Jess press herself up against his back and together they managed to remain perfectly still – Jess supporting her weight on his back, Matt shielding Josh from view.

They could hear the wendigo behind them. It skittered along the wall, breathing harshly and growling. Time seemed to pass at a crawl. The wendigo let out a chirp, then a screech, then finally leaped away further down the tunnel.

Jess staggered away from him and Matt gave Josh his personal space back. “We have to go, _now_ ,” he urged, hurrying out of the alcove. Jess and Josh struggled to keep up.

The screech bounced around the mine walls again; the thing was circling back towards them. Jess and Josh, if anything, were moving even _slower_ now. Their faces twisted into pained grimaces. Jess stumbled, and Josh started hyperventilating.

_You can leave them_ , his brain helpfully suggested.

_Not today_ , he replied.

Matt charged forward and rammed his body into a thin wall of weak wooden planks. The planks broke and fell down a sheer cliff-face. The cold wind of the outside sliced across his face and fresh air filled his lungs – he could see the tops of the trees waving and snow blowing past. Matt immediately turned and helped Jess out onto the narrow ledge, then Josh. Matt barely got onto the ledge himself before the wendigo poked its head through the gap. _Blessedly_ , Matt had already angled himself just so and Josh was already curling in on himself and making himself as small as possible so that Matt could hide him again

Don't. Fucking. Move.

The wendigo sniffed and snarled, looking first left, then right. It screamed out into the night, then hurried off.

In unison, all three let out their held breaths. Matt bent down and rested his hands on his knees, moaning. Looking out across the pines, they could see the large shadowy figure of the lodge in the distance.

–

JOSH  
BLACKWOOD PINES  
6:59

“We got you, Jess.”

Matt held out his arms to help Jessica down from the short ledge in the trail. Josh helped steady her as she reached out; he had been supporting her weight on his shoulder for the past half-mile or so, feeling well enough to be touched but still not coordinated enough to traverse unstable terrain without help.

Jess grabbed onto Matt's shoulders and Matt quickly lifted her up and set her down beside him onto soft snow. She let out a strangled cry of pain that made Matt's eyes go full puppy-dog.

With Jess safe, Matt reached out an arm for Josh to steady himself on, when suddenly-

_**BOOM.** _

Josh slipped and fell flat on his face in the snow as Matt and Jess screamed. A large fireball bloomed up the hill, spitting out a towering plume of smoke that rose over the trees.

“ _Is that the lodge?!_ ” Matt yelped.

Josh lifted his head and felt his insides coil into a knot of dread. A strangled noise tore from his throat as he scrambled forwards on all fours – Matt grabbed his arm and hauled him upright, supporting Jess on his left and Josh on his right as they all three staggered up the slope towards the inferno.

The sun's rays turned the horizon into a warm haze of pinks and oranges as they crested the hill. The lodge was, indeed, burning, and in front of it- _all five of their friends, safe_.

When the group at the lodge saw them, everyone started yelling.

“ _Oh my God Matt!_ ” Emily shouted, bounding through the snow towards them. Matt let go of them both, and Josh and Jess gave him space as Emily launched herself and latched onto him, wrapping her legs around his chest and hugging his neck. Matt stumbled back a few steps and chuckled a little, then warily wrapped his arms around her, muttering, “I missed you too, Em.”

“ _JESSICA!_ ” Mike bellowed, and sprinted straight towards her. Josh heard Jess breathe out, “ _Mike_ ,” like a prayer – tears filled her eyes and she looked the happiest he'd ever seen her. Mike skidded to a stop in front of her and reached out as if to pull her into his chest, then froze. Instead, his hands hovered around her face, before he gently curled them around her shoulders and pressed his forehead to hers. They stayed like that, staring at each other and crying, occasionally breathing the other's name.

Josh didn't know what he expected. To be ignored, maybe, at best, or to have rocks thrown at him. What he absolutely did _not_ expect was for Chris to look at him, take a few halting steps towards him, then bark, “JOSH!” and start run-limping towards him as fast he could, smiling and crying. “JOSH!”

Josh's legs carried him a few steps forward to meet him faster. Chris crashed into him, grabbing at his shirt and his coat and clawing him into a hug, sobbing into his neck, “ _I'm so sorry bro I never should have left you it's all my fault oh my god oh my god oh my god-_ ”

Josh absorbed Chris's energy like a sponge and promptly started crying with him. “Stop,” he choked, wrapping himself around him, pressing himself into Chris's warmth and tucking his hands into his ridiculously poofy purple coat.

Chris's arms tightened around him. “I went back for you... I wanted to go after you, but- _I should have known_ , I wasn't there for you, I let you down, I'm such a _shit friend_ -”

Josh worked his jaw and finally managed to slur, “You did _nothing wrong_ , I did _everything_ wrong, _I'm_ sorry... I'm _sorry_... _I'm sorry_...”

The two of them clung on to each other for dear life as Sam and Ashley waved down a helicopter flying overhead.

* * *

10:57:36  
BMCP00142  
Police Interview Audio Transcript  
Room 3

[Subject hand-cuffed to table after evidence from previous victims. Subject did not resist. Dilation of pupils, slurred speech, and tremors suggest unknown drug withdrawal.]

OFFICER GONZALEZ: Your friends from earlier said you hurt them.

[Subject becomes restless.]

GONZALEZ: Would you like to tell us what happened?

JOSHUA WASHINGTON: Not at first.

GONZALEZ: What?

WASHINGTON: Wasn't- wasn't like that at- first.

WASHINGTON: I. I didn't want to hurt them, at first. But then I. They. I thought they did it on pur- purpose. They- they killed them, and they were dead, and they went on like nothing h- h- hap- happened. Nobody pun- punished them, so I... did.

GONZALEZ: Did you _want_ what happened last night?

WASHINGTON: No! No! I never wanted them to die!

11:00:01  
BMCP00142  
Police Interview Audio Transcript  
Room 3

GONZALEZ: What happened to you at the shed?

[Subject begins rocking back and forth.]

WASHINGTON: It was Hannah.

GONZALEZ: Our officers there found your blood across the floor. Joshua, did your friends hurt you?

WASHINGTON: It was Hannah.

GONZALEZ: Sometimes when people close to us hurt us, we misremember things, and in your state-

WASHINGTON: She was a Wendigo.

[Gonzalez sighs.]

WASHINGTON: In the mines. They f-fell, Beth died, H-Hannah ate her, the Cree said, my Mom tal- talk- talked to them, they have a l-l-, the Wendigo spirit-

GONZALEZ: Joshua.

[Subject becomes emotional.]

WASHINGTON: Beth's still down there! They're all still- down there! Please, you h-have to go down to the mines! T-Take me in, do whatever, but d-don't let this happen again, please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I _hated_ Josh's janitor costume and wanted to tear it off of him (not in the Bone Zone way) as soon as he was done acting. Therefore, one of my main goals in this was to get him out of those damn clothes.
> 
> The next chapter would be a bonus of alternate decisions the characters could have made and their respective outcomes. Then I want to write three more endings, with 4/8, 2/8, and a Sole Survivor ending.


	2. Alternate Paths - Josh, Matt, Jess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Let's hope it is not too late for atonement... and that your friends, if they still are your friends, can save you from... something even worse than death itself. _\- Dr. Alan J. Hill__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The writers give us a line like that (in the summary), build up Josh like he could possibly have a heroic moment to try and redeem himself, and after all of that... nothing. We get nothing. And Josh gets screwed.
> 
> In this installment, Josh, Matt, and Jess all get a chance to be a big damn hero- or die horribly.
> 
> I've gained a painful new respect for the writers of "choose your own path" games. I'm so sorry if this bonus chapter is confusing and/or hard to read: The **bold text** is the cause, the ƸӜƷ is a simple divider, and the text after the ƸӜƷ is the effect. All text below that first line is describing that specific scenario. A new scenario begins after a dash, like this:
> 
> -
> 
> (The amount of support I've been getting in the form of kudos and comments for this fic absolutely blew me away. I started writing this as a form of personal catharsis to vent about not being able to save Josh. I considered not even publishing anything, but after seeing how many people like this, I'm glad I shared it.
> 
> I've also discovered I'm not the only one who hates that Josh kept wearing that damned costume. What a glorious feeling.)

**Josh misses Hannah's diary** ƸӜƷ Josh doesn't see her tattoo in time. Squish.

–

 **Josh takes the quick route over the rubble** ƸӜƷ

. . . Or he could just quickly scramble over it.

He chose the quick route. Quickly, he clambered up onto the pile, causing rock and wood and metal to slide under his feet. The loud, gnashing sound of chewing behind him spurred him onwards. He quickly scrambled for handhold after foothold, barely catching himself from falling with the pile or being sucked down into it – after frantic effort, he managed to crest the top and roll to safety on the other side as the shifting rubble caused the doorway to finally collapse in a hail of boulders, wooden beams, and dust, sealing the room behind him.

Josh staggered to his feet, hacking and coughing, his eyes burning. Shaking his head, he warily reached out to trail a hand along the mine wall and stumbled forwards into the pitch-black tunnel.

–

**Matt punches the shadowy figure** ƸӜƷ Josh is distant to Matt.

Matt nimbly side-stepped around the corner and leveraged a mean right-hook.

A familiar voice shrieked in pain, and the swinging lantern-light in Matt's hand revealed- _Josh?!_

“JOSH!”

Josh slowly sat up, clutching at his eye, his face already a grimy, bloody, tear-stained mess. His teeth were clenched and he hissed in pain, tucking in his knees to his chest.

Jess shuffled her feet. “Matt...” she scolded.

Matt immediately dropped down to his knees in front of him. “Ohmygod dude I am _so sorry_ , I didn't know it was you, I _swear_ -” When he reached out to touch him, Josh flinched away. “Josh, dude, I... _How are you alive?_ ”

All he got was a vacant stare in return. Or at least, until Jess's hoarse voice chimed, “...Josh?”

Josh's eyes slowly moved upwards to Jessica's. He blinked, then whispered, “Are you real?”

Jess struggled to nod, wincing in pain. Matt backed off of Josh, standing. “Jess fell down a mineshaft, but she's a trooper.”

Josh started crying again, smiling this time, and surged to his feet. . .

–

 **Josh fails to catch his balance and knocks into the rubble / Josh fails to grab the right handholds** ƸӜƷ The rubble collapses on top of him.

MATT  
MINES  
6:12

A low rumble reverberated through the mine.

Jess grimaced and shuffled closer to him. “What was that...?” she rasped.

Matt looked up and down and around the tunnel, his heart thundering in his chest and his breaths coming in shallow. “I dunno... Um. Let's just keep going.”

After about two minutes of walking, Matt stopped and held out his arm, signaling Jessica to stagger to a halt. “Do you hear that?”

A male voice was traveling through the side tunnel to their left. After a few moments, they could make out the word _Help!_

Matt stared down the tunnel, wide-eyed. “That's Josh's voice.”

Jess's head perked up. “Josh... We- Matt... we gotta...” She started limping towards the side-tunnel, but Matt lightly caught her arm.

“Jess, no, I don't think this is...” He winced at the bewildered look on her face and looked away. “Jess, Josh is dead.”

“Wha... did you, did... you _see_ him? I mean...”

“Well, no, I mean, but-” Matt frantically thought about it. Could Chris have been wrong about seeing Josh die? _Chris_?

 **Investigate voice** ƸӜƷ

“ _God_... dammit... Okay.” Matt let go of her arm and started down the side-tunnel, making sure she was following.

The tunnel was mostly bare and full of floating dust. Jess covered her mouth and nose with her coat sleeve while Matt coughed.

“ _Please!_ ”

“Josh?!” Matt lifted the lantern higher and hurried the last several feet to the end of the tunnel. It looked like the tunnel collapsed – there was a huge mess of rock and wood and metal, and sticking out of it was a bloody hand, grappling aimlessly.

“ _Matt?!_ ”

“ _Ho_ -kay,” Matt breathed, setting down the lantern before bracing himself and grabbing hold of a large boulder. “I'm gonna get you out of this, buddy, okay? ...Okay!” Matt took a deep breath, then _heaved_.

The boulder grudgingly loosened, then slid and rolled off to the side. A little of the debris slid with it, but Matt could see Josh's entire arm now and most of his head. Matt quickly grabbed hold of Josh's arm and dragged him out of the rubble – Josh staggered to his feet as soon as he was clear and stumbled into his chest; he reeled backwards and then stared at Matt with wide, terrified eyes.

Josh looked liked absolute shit – bruised and battered with dust in his hair, blood trickling out of his nose and across gashes on his cheek and forehead, bloodshot eyes, and ragged scavenged clothes.

“Matt?” he breathed.

“ _Oh my God._ ” Matt lurched forward and crushed him into a hug, beaming. . .

**Matt doesn't investigate voice** ƸӜƷ Hannah does; Josh becomes a Wendigo.

–

**Matt chooses to run**  ƸӜƷ

“Which way...?” he breathed. There was a wooden alcove for tools or something to the side, but it wasn't solid, and _it was right fucking behind them!_

“Guys!” Matt's legs kicked into high gear, propelling him forward. “Come on come on come on come on!”

Behind him, Josh took off in an unsteady lope, managing a few meters before he lilted sideways and bounced off the cave-wall. Jess fared much worse.

Jess managed a handful of short strides before her legs seemed to just... stop working. She sank heavily to the ground like a dying thing and rolled onto her back, and just like that, the Wendigo was upon her. Matt was frozen where he stood, watching in blank terror.

Josh suddenly skidded in between them like Babe Ruth, throwing his body over hers, keeping his weight above her with his legs and elbows as he screamed, “ _Stop it!_ ”

The Wendigo – _Hannah?!_ – screamed back, grabbed him, and tossed him to the side, cracking off the stone.

**Abandon Jessica and Josh** ƸӜƷ

“Fuck this.” Matt turned and ran.

JESS  
MINES  
6:21

There was a rock in her hand.

With a wild snarl, Jess smashed the rock against the monster's face. Its head snapped sideways and its claws missed her face, slicing into the ground beside her cheek. A second later, another rock slammed into the monster's face. Josh's voice roared, “ _Over here!_ ”

The Wendigo released a ringing bellow of rage so loud Jess thought her ears started bleeding. It threw itself off of Jess and towards Josh, growling, its eyes bulging. The thing's head snapped from left to right, as if it couldn't see – when Jess looked up at Josh, he stood in place, paralyzed, the only part of him moving being the terrified tears spilling over his cheeks.

Without a sound, she clawed herself up from the ground, opening her mouth to silently weep in pain. When the white spots cleared from her vision, the Wendigo was right in front of Josh's face, turning its head an inch from his nose. When it looked away, his opposite hand spasmed into a claw. He was going to crack.

Jess grabbed another rock and took aim.

_Smack!_

The Wendigo spun around, snarling. Jess stood stock still. With its back to him, Josh heaved a silent breath and started shuddering violently.

After looking in vain for her a solid ten seconds, the Wendigo shrieked and angrily skittered off down the tunnel. When it was gone around the corner, she and Josh stumbled towards one another. Without a word, they marched shoulder-to-shoulder, and together managed to pry wooden planks off a wall that led them directly outside into the snow. . .

**Jess doesn't throw the rock in time** ƸӜƷ Josh becomes a Wendigo.

Josh's entire body twitched as he let out a sob.

The Wendigo's head snapped back to his and it screamed in his face, hoisting him into the air in one hand while grabbing his legs in the other. In one quick movement, there was a sickening _crack!_ , and Josh's knees were bent backwards.

Jess was already at the far end of the tunnel, frantically crying as she listened to Josh's screams. The monster dragged him away; she staggered off in the opposite direction, through a metal door. . .

**Jess fails to save herself with the rock or stand still** ƸӜƷ

JOSH  
MINES  
6:21

Hannah thrust her clawed hand down Jess's throat, tightened her grip, then ripped her entire jaw off, stringing along strands of flesh and muscle. Josh saw the light in Jess's eyes surge then die.

He was pretty sure that he was screaming, but he couldn't hear anything. Everything seemed far away, as if he was under water. Somehow he ended up at the far end of the tunnel. Hannah looked up from Jess's body and skittered towards him; Josh turned around and rammed himself against a wall of weak planks. The planks exploded outwards and fell down into a ravine; Josh paid no attention to them and instead shuffled out onto the ledge.

Hannah stuck her head out of the gap and Josh held his breath. Every muscle in his body was taut, reducing his shaking enough for the padding of the coat to smother it. He stared blankly at the sky. When Hannah got bored after a few seconds and jumped away, Josh's hands curled around the wooden boards behind him. A tiny sound escaped his throat, and after a long moment, he broke.

**Josh moves** ƸӜƷ The knee-snapping scene; Josh becomes a Wendigo.

**Matt saves Jessica and Josh** ƸӜƷ

The Wendigo – _Hannah?!_ – screamed back, grabbed Josh, and tossed him to the side, cracking off the stone.

There was a rusty shovel leaning against the cave wall. Matt instantly grabbed it and charged while it was still distracted from throwing Josh. As soon as he got close enough, he twisted and swung like he was going for a home-run in the 9 th inning.

The shovel smacked across the Wendigo's face with a violent _CLANG!_ Before it could recover, Matt brought the shovel down over its skull with a _CRACK!_ while Josh grabbed Jess under her arms and lumbered backwards down the tunnel, dragging her with him as fast as he could go.

The Wendigo sat back and held up a defensive arm; Matt took the chance to turn tail and sprint after the others, barely missing a swipe of massive claws. He could hear the monstrous thing chasing him – he stooped down and snatched the lantern as he ran, then threw over a barrel full of oil. He smashed the lantern onto the ground and the fire engulfed the spill; the Wendigo reared back and shrieked.

Matt charged straight past the other two, standing off to the side and clinging to each other, to ram against a wall of weak planks. The planks exploded outwards and fell down the sheer cliff-face; Matt immediately turned and helped Jess out, then Josh, before joining them himself. . .

**Matt misses / hesitates on the first shovel swing** ƸӜƷ

The Wendigo's head snapped up; it pounced on Matt in a blink, knocking the shovel out of his hands. With a shriek, it raised its claws over its head-

JOSH  
MINES  
6:22

-and brought them down, hard.

Josh struggled up onto his elbows from the ground just in time to see a hole of gore appear where Matt's face should've been.

Hannah immediately leaped onto Jess, who was screaming hysterically and trying to crawl away, and thrust her clawed hand down Jess's throat. She tightened her grip, then ripped Jess's entire jaw off, stringing along strands of flesh and muscle. Josh saw the light in Jess's eyes surge then die.

He was pretty sure that he was screaming, but he couldn't hear anything. Everything seemed far away, as if he was under water. Somehow he ended up at the far end of the tunnel. . .

**Matt misses / hesitates on the second shovel swing, fails to spill the barrel, or fails to ignite the oil** ƸӜƷ

JESS  
MINES  
6:22

In a quick lunge, the Wendigo was on Matt, throwing him down onto the ground. With a shriek, it raised its claws over its head and brought them down, hard. A hole of gore appeared where Matt's face should've been.

A shrill “ _No!_ ” tore out of Jess's throat at the same time a strangled cry tore out of Josh's. The Wendigo looked up from Matt's body and skittered towards where they stood at the end of the tunnel.

Josh absently held out an arm between it and Jessica and started hyperventilating, sounding like a punctured bagpipe. Jess turned, saw snow, then threw her body against the rotten wooden wall with her remaining strength.

The planks broke and tumbled over a sheer cliff-face. Without looking back, Jess reached behind her, grabbed Josh's coat-sleeve, and pulled him out onto the ledge after her.

Josh was still hyperventilating and shaking. Jess tugged weakly at his sleeve and rasped, “Josh, look at me...”

Josh turned his body towards her and looked into her eyes right before the Wendigo poked its head through the gap. Jess mouthed _Freeze_ , then forced herself to remain calm and hold Josh's focus for the few seconds it took for the Wendigo to get bored and jump away.

Jess finally looked away from Josh, closed her eyes, and cried. “ _God_...” When she finally opened them again and looked back at Josh, he looked catatonic, eyes unseeing, arms wrapped around himself and gently rocking.

Jess forced herself to breath – one breath, then two – then whispered, “Josh...” No response. “Josh?”

When Josh was still unresponsive, Jess allowed herself to let out a small, scared noise, before gently grabbing his coat-sleeve again. She could see the shadowy shape of the lodge in the distance. “C'mon...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering how many Youtubers I see who consistently hate Josh and loudly proclaim they don't care about him dying, I thought it would be interesting game-wise if having Josh in this segment acted as a second chance or wild card.
> 
> PS: Will somebody please save these poor children?!
> 
> Update: Yeah, nevermind those other endings. Let's just keep that first happy one, shall we?


End file.
